8/12/2019 1993 Issue 3 - Sermon on Luke 1:5-45 - Revelation and History in the Gospel - Counsel of Chalcedon

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REVELATION AND

HISTORY

IN THE

GOSP L

Luke 1:5-45

1.

The

Different

Emphases

with

which

the Four Gospels

Begin

a.

The Gospel According

to

Mark

Mark begins his gospel simply by

assuming that the Son of God has

made His appearance

in

the world

in

Jesus. In his fast-moving style Mark

moves immediately into a vignette into

the ministry ofJohn the Baptist and

the baptism ofJesus.

b. The Gospel According

to

Matthew

Matthew, like Luke,

says

much

about the actual incarnation of]esus,

although he basically confines his

narrative to a description of the virgin

birth of]esus and related subjects.

c. The Gospel According to John

John

begins his gospel

as

the book

of

Genesis begins the

Bible:

In the

beginningwastheWord,andtheWord

waswithGodandtheWordwasGod ...

And the Word became

fiesh ... ,

In.

1:1,14.

d. The Gospel According to Luke

Although Luke, with Matthew,

reports at length

the

circumstances

surrounding the

birth

of]esus Christ,

his emphasis is quite different than

that of Matthew, so that Luke's account

of he birth of] esus is

in

no

way

a mere

supplement

to

Matthew's account. The

two accounts differ widely concerning

what they report, although both are

historically accurate.

While Matthew gives

an

objective

and detailed account of he virgin birth

of Jesus, Luke, on the other hand,

presents many minute details of the

life of the family into which Jesus was

born: the intimate remarks of

Mary to

her close friends; the laying bare of

Mary's soul in the various phases of

her

extraordinary experience; the

prophetic poetry of Mary, Zacharias

and others. Luke also

gives

prominence

to the birth, ministry and history of

John the Baptist, 1:5-25; 57-80.

t is in these

differences

of

presentation by Luke regarding the

birth and early childhood of]esus that

we

can see Luke's purpose

for

his

extended account of these things. The

intimate details concerning

Mary

and

the Baptist and the other secondary

figures of the story are set forth only

because they illumine the significance

of he birth of Christ, and so contribute

to the proclamation of the gospel. In

particular these historical details

provide the occasions for a long selies

of inspired disclosures which cast a

brilliant light upon the Child who was

born

in

Bethlehem. -Ned Stonehouse

2

The Emphatic Point

Luke

is

Making

in

His Extended Account of

the Birth

and

Early Childhood ofJesus Glrist

The momentous event, thatmighty

act of God, around which everything

in

Luke's account turns,

and

to which

everything poihts, is

the

historical fact

that Jesus was

born

of the virgin Mary

in the town of Bethlehem. But without

a divinely revealed interpretation of

that event, explaining its meaning

and

purpose, the whole situation would

be

quite unintelligible

and

irrelevant.

Therefore, preceding and following

the account of the

birth

ofJesus, Luke

presents us with a cluster

of

divine,

verbal revelation explaining the

significance of the action

of

God

in

the

birth of]esus.

a.

The Birth

of]esus

as Divine Revelation

The birth of Jesus was

in

itself a

self-revelation of God. It was the

supreme intervention of God into

human history to reveal Himself to

mankind, to reveal His sovereign grace

and

covenant faithfulness

in the

salvation of His people,

and

to reveal

His justice

and

righteous judgment

in

the destruction of he reprobate. Being

fully Godin ourhumanity,Jesus Christ

Himself lived out

the

life

and

will of

God

in

the full light ofday for all to see.

The baby

born

of the virgin Mary is

none other that the Son of the Most

High, 1 32, 35. In Jesus the Lord

God of Israel

has

visited

us

and

accomplished

redemption

for His

people, 1:68.

JESUS

CHRIST

THE

REVE LER

ISJESUS

CHRIST THE

REDEEMER

God has revealed Himself

in

and

throughJ esus Christ,

not

jus t to reveal

information concerning Himself to

man, but to save people from their

sins. Because

man

is

in

an historical,

moral

predicament

gUilty

of

committing historical sins deserving

of real historical

and

eternal

punishment, historically enslaved to

those sins, God's revelation of Himself

in

Chlist and the Bible is histolical. His

accomplishment of

our

redemption

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from sin in

the life, death and

resurrection

of]

esus Christ actually

took

place

in

history. The

Bible

is the

spedal revelation of God, verbally,

propositionally and infallibly into

man's sphere

of understanding

in

words andideas

thataremeaningful to

man and

to

God. "The New Testament

'gospel' is notnews about the character

of God or even about His attitude

toward man. It s rather the newsof

an

act of atonement

provided for us

objectively by God

in

Christ on the

crossofGolgotha outside thedtywalls

of erusalem." Kantzer.

b.

The Birth of]esus

as the Fulfillment of

Old

Testament Revelation

.The birth ofjesuswas the fulfilhnent

of

the

prophetic revelation of God

in

the Old

Testament, "a fulfillment that

.comes to re lization only because of

the

divine government of events as

God

guides and protects the course of

events to

their

appointed

end."

Stonehouse.

~ T h e

Lord

God will give

Him the throne

of

His father David;

and

He will reign over the

house

of Jacob

forever; and His kingdom will have

no

end

1 :32-33. God ''has raised

up a

horn

of

salvation

for

us

in

the

house

of

David his servant, as He spoke

by

the

mouth ofHis holy prophets from

of old,

1:69-70.

c. The Birth of]esus and

Contemporary Divine

e v e l a t i O ~

The main point Luke is making,

however, is not that]esus ' birth is the

fulfillment ofandent divine revelation,

but thatit is reportedand explained by

neW

contemporary divine revelation,

which,

though

breathing

the

atmosphere of Old Testament

prophecy, points

'to

the imminent

manifestation of,the divine presence

and pciwerthrough

the

birth of the son .

of

Mary ~ g t o n e h o u s e This sjledal

revelation, contemporaneousWith the

births ofjohn and]esus,comes as the.

pteaChingof he'gospel by God through

angels, priests, prophets and women,

Lk.1:19;2:10. "Thegospel,according

to Luke, is therefore divine, not merely

a word of prophecy spoken through

the prophets; noragain merely because

that prophecy has been fulfilled by

divine action, but also because the

present divine action is accompanied

by

inspired utterances. -Stonehouse.

The central importance that Luke

places

on

this divine revelation

explaining the meaning of the birth of

] esus is clearly seen

in

the events and

the

specific instances of divine

revelation clustering the birth of]esus:

(1).

[Luke 1:5-25] The Angel of he

Lord announces the birth and mission

of]

ohn

the Baptist as the fordtunner of

the Messiahin the power ofElijah,

1:

7,

13-17,19-20.

(2). [Luke 1:26-38] The

Angel,

Gabriel, communicates to Mary that

she will conceive a divine-human son

through the overshadOwing of the

power of the Most High God.

(3). [Luke 1:39-56] Elizabeth, "full

of the Holy Spirit," addresses

Mary as,

"the mother of

my

Lord," 1:43, and

Mary responds

by

magnifying the

mercy of]ehovah

in

the fulfillment of

His covenant in the birth of Christ,

1:46-55. The Magnificat she sings is

the revelation of the Lord, explaining

the birth of]esus.

(4). [Luke 1:57-79] At the birth of

]

ohn

the Baptist, Zacharias speaks

divine revelation explaining the visit

of

God to Israel in]esus accomplishing

redemption

for

His people and

explaining that his son, John, would

go before the Lord to prepare Hisway.

(5). [Luke 2: 1-7] That momentous

event of the birth ofJesus is recorded.

(6). [Luke 2:8-20] God proclaims

through is angel of the birth of the

Savior, who is Christ the Lord;

and

the

heavenly hosts give glory to God

for

the peace that will come to earth

through

Him to

all those upon whom

1 IHECOUNSEL ofChalcedon April, 1993

God's good pleasure rests.

(7).

[Luke2:211Jesusis circumcized

andnamed, 'lesus,"

in

accordance with

the divine revelation through the angel.

(8).

[Luke 2:22-38] Simeon speaks

divine revelation as

he

explains the

universal impact of the birth and life of

Christ

the Lord;

and

Anna,

a

prophetess, also spoke of the Christ

who would bring redemption.

(9). [Luke 2:39,40] The Child

continues

to

growin wisdom and grace.

(10.) [Luke2:41-52] The Boy,]esus,

is

in the

Temple

in Jerusalem,

announcing that Hemustbe about His

Father's concerns, 2:49.

These ten

episodes

are

not

incidental to Luke's story of the birth

of ] esus. "They are

not

presented

simply

to

dress

up

the narrative in a

poetic manner. Rather they are of the

very warp and woof

of Luke's message

concerning Jesus. Through angelic

annunciations and

prophetic

communications,

and

finally through

the intimation of ] esus Himself, we

observe the true significance of the

event

upon which concentrates our

attention. The disclosures, (listed

above), like the birth of]esus itself, are

distinctly supernatural, (and hence

divine), and both the nature

of His

birthand the revelations accompanying

it

point

to

the supernatural person

presented to

men

in the gospel."

Stonehouse

d.The Point the Contemporary

Divine Revelation makes concerning

the Meaning of the Birth of]esus

(I).The one born in Bethlehem is

named, ':Jesus" 1:31; 2:21, which is

divinely given, and which means The

Lord

is

salvation,

Mat.

1 21. Jesus was

born to

accomplish the salvationof he

people of God by forgiving them ofall

their sins, delivering them from all

their enemies, and fulfilling all the

covenant promises

in

their lives. He

would accomplish this salvation

in

His

8/12/2019 1993 Issue 3 - Sermon on Luke 1:5-45 - Revelation and History in the Gospel - Counsel of Chalcedon

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life, death and resurrection. There is

no

other

nameunder

heavengiven among

men, whereby

we

must be

saved, Acts

4:12.

(2).

He

is the Christ , the Anointed

oftheLord,2:26. "Christ" is the Greek

word

fonhe

Hebrewword, "Messiah,"

meaning "The Anointed One." The

O.T. prophesies that the promised,

great messianic Deliverer would be

anointed by God, i.e., consecrated and

equipped by Jehovah Himself. He

would be God's anointed

PROPHET

sent to earth to dispel man's ignorance

and

perverted thinking

caused by sin

by

bringing

to him the light of written

revelation

and

spiritual

enlightenment. He would

be

God's anointed PRIEST

sent

to

earth to become

the sacrificial victim for sin,

taking upon Himself the

guilt and punishment of

sin belonging

to

those for

whom He died, forgiving

them and setting them free.

He would be God s

anointed KING

sent

to

earth to govern the unruly, sinful

passions of

the human

heart and

restoring God's order in His creation,

disrupted by man's rebellion. And He

does all this as The Christ, The

Anointed One from God.

He

stands in

a class by Himself. No one else can

accomplish what He can accomplish.

(3). He is the messianic Son of

David who would fulfill the Davidic

Covenant, 1:32f. AsJehovah promised

David in II Samuel 7, the Messiah

would be the son ofDavid and the Son

of God, who would establish the House

of God

in

the earth in the church, and

who would establish upon the earth

the Kingdom of God which would be

triumphant

over

all evil

in men s

hearts and

societies,

and which

would

put down all

opposition

against it

in

all areas.

(4).

He

is the One who is conceived

through the coming of the Holy Spirit

and the overshadowing of the Most

High, and who is, therefore,

The

Son

of

God, 1:35. This person, who

had

Mary as his mother, had the Living

God as his Father. He was conceived

miraculously in the womb of he virgin

Mary. This son

of

woman was

no

man's son. Jesus is the Living God in

our humanity; so that, whatever can

be said of God can be said ofJesus. He

is the DIVINE-Human Savior of men.

(5). His coming is nothing less than

the long-awaited coming of the Lord

Himself to save His people,

1:

17, 76;

1:43; 2:11. The salvation Jesus came

to

accomplish

would

have as its

NATURE, that which is defined by the

Old Testament,

and

as its

OBJECTS,

the chosen people of God throughout

the world. He is the One

for

whom

God's faithful people hoped and onged

throughout the O.T. period [rom

Eve

to Malachi.

So that, in these revelations we are

confronted with the staggering truth

which we would never have known

with Abraham, (1:54f,

720 and

as

effecting the redemption

and

salvation

of Israel, 1:68; 2:38; 1:69, 77; 2:11,

30; 1:47."- Stonehouse.

3. The Application of this Discussion

on

Revelation

and

History

with Regard to the Birth

oj]esus

a.

Divine Revelation

is

the

Self

Revelation of God, John

1:

1-14.

In fact, God can

be

known only by

Self-revelation, because "personality

canbeknownonlybyself-disclosure,"

Merrill Tenney, The

Meaning

o the

Word,

The

Bible:

The

Living

Word

of Revelation

In

His

Self- revelation God

manifests His Name, i.e.

His character and His will,

Deut. 12:5, 32;Jn. 17:6,8,

17.

b. Divine Revelation is a

Creative Power that

Produces Real Effects in

Actual HumanHistory, Lk.

3:2;Jn.3:34.

It is God's Mighty Acts

in history

for

man s

salvation,

viz.

the

Exodus

in

the

O.T.,

the birth, life, death,

and

resurrection

of

Christ

in

the N.T.

c. Divine Revelation is

an

Authoritative

Declaration Expressing Revealed Truth

in Words and Sentences Meaningful

to Man and God, Lk. 1:37; 2:15. See

Isa. 1:1, 10, 11, 18;]er. 1:9; Acts 1: 16;

I Cor. 2:10-13.

d. Divine Revelation is Event

and

Interpretation

The

inseparability

of

SAVING

COMMUNICATION

and

the SAVING

without divine revelation: He who is EVENT is essential to the gospel ofthe

the Lord'sAnointedis the Lord Himself. New Testament. Event without inter

The Lord's Christ is Christ the Lord.. pretation is unintelligible. Interpre

"His place and mission

in

the history tation without Event

,is

empty. God

of revelation and redemption receive communicates Himself o ntan through

further clarification when His coming His

ACTS and

through His WORDS.

is viewed as accomplishing the "Christ died " is the Event; "Christ

fulfillmentof the covenant established died foroursins " is the Interpretation.

April, 1993

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Kenneth Kantzer has made this

point well

in The Bible: The Living Word

o Revelation: "The

immediate

contemporaries who wimessed Christ's

death

on

he cross did notautomaticaUy

interpret it as a victory for law and

order. Even by Christ's own disciples

it was mourned as a defeat. It could

with considerable justification have

been interpretedasan example ofdying

for a pri'nciple. The resurrection,

likewise, could have been interpreted

as God's vindication

of

Jesus

as

really

righteous and

as wrongly

condemned by the Jews. In the

New Testament the Gospel was

not

the message that Christ died.

Rather the Gospel was the good

news that Christ died FOR OUR

SINS

and

rose again for

our

justification. It is the event plus

the meaning or

the

Significance

of

this

event

that

together

constitute the essential good

news of

the

New Testament.

live consistently with them

n

order to

be preserved

from

error and grow

toward maturity in Christ.

(3).

The written revelation we

possess in the

Bible

is God-breathed,

IITim. 3: 16, i.e., it is a product of

God

not of man; and it is the combination

of Spirit-produced thoughts

in

Spirit

produced words, I Cor. 2:13; therefore

the

Bible

is an

INERRANT

revelation

from God. The word, 'inerrant,'

simply denotes the quality of freedom

from error, and

it is

in

this sense that

e. Written Divine Revelation is the word is applied to the Holy

Necessary fora Comprehensive, Exact SCriptures. The inerrancy of the

and Certain Knowledge of the'Gospel Scriptures, then, implies their freedom

of

Christ, Lk. 1: 1-4. from any error of doctrine, fact or

(O.The written

revelation

is ethic. To state the matter in a slightly

necessary because

the

Church

different way, every assertion of

the

constant y needs

its renewing, Bible is

true, whether the

Bible

speaks

transforming impact. The

word

has ofwhattobelieve(doctrine),orhowto

quickenedme, Psa.1l9:50. The Word live (ethics), or whether it recounts

of

God searches the heart, Heb. 4:12, his tor ical events, (history). On

creates faith, Rom. 1O:17;Jn. 17:20, whatever subject the Scripture speaks,

effects new birth, Jam. 1:18; I

Pet.

itspeaksthetruth,andonemaybelieve

1:23, cleanses, In. 15:3; Eph. 5:26, its utterances. -E.J. Young, Are

the

sanctifies, In. 17:17, gives wisdom, SCriptures Inerrant? , The ruble: The

Col. 3: 16, builds up Christians in the living

Word

ojRevelation

faith and brings them to their

final

Thereis a reason why the Christian

heritage, Acts 20:31, i.e., saves their bel iever insists upon the Bible's

souls, Jam. 1 21. inerrancy,

for

he realizes that

i

the

(2). The written revelation is Bible has failed him at one

pOint,

he

necessary

as

the foundation for our

life

cannot be certain that it will not

fail

of

faith

in

Christ. The

focal

center of him at other pOints. -E.].

Young. It

faith is Christ, who gives

us

promises, must be emphasized that,

if

the Bible

laws and wisdom concerning God and . were not God's revealed Word

..

- i f

life which can only come by divine that is, no one could be sure that

revelation. We need to study them, everything which the Biblical writers

believe them, thank God for the)Il, and say of God,

God

also says of

Himself-

12 TIlE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon ApJil,

1993

we could not be sure either that any

single statement in the Bible purporting

to be a promise of God to Christian

believers is really valid. - Those who

jettison the evangelical concept of a

totally trustworthy inspired SCripture

must exchange the rational Biblical

n o t i o n o f f u i t h ~ w l k i n g i n t h e l i g h t o f

God for the irrational existential idea

of faith as a leap in the dark, and must

abandon the

firm

foundation of the

divine promises

for

the yawning abyss

of

anemjXyrtihilism. -j.L Packer

f.The

Incarnate Revelation of

God and the Written Revelation of

God are not Contradictory; They

are Equally an Authoritative

Revelation from God .

The LivingWord is inseparable

from

the

Written Word. For us

Christ and theBible areinseparable.

Botharegr.acious condescensions of

God to man's level to communicate

iswill to

man and

to

accomplish

his salvation

from

sin. The Written

Word is the communication of the

living Word; and the living Word

is

the message of the Written Word.

Therefore, the words of the Bible are

the words of

God.

Both are absolutely

essential

to

man's salvation: We are to

believe the Word of Christ and to

believe in the Word, Chlist. Believing

in the body of information from God,

which is the Written Revelation of

God, we enjoy communion with God

in Christ, Who is the

Living Revelation

of God.

The purpose of written revelation

is to enable us to see the Lord, seated

on His throne, in majestic holiness,

sovereign

grace,

and eanh-filling glory,

Isaiah

6:

Iff.

The

ultimate goal of all

divine revelation is not so much to

make man

wis as

it is to bring him

to

direct encounter with God as a person,

and to evoke

from

man the response

of

fellowship with and obedience to

God. -Kenneth Kantzer, The

CommunicationofRevelation, The mble:

The Living

word

ojRevelation. n